Has anyone else here have tried both online poker and day trading and compared the two? Between the following 3 options and the scenarios listed below, how would you build a bankroll up to $25,000 and eventually, $100,000?

1. Stocks.
2. Stock Options or futures.
3. Poker.

1. You have $10 starting bankroll.
2. You have $100 starting bankroll.
3. You have $1000 starting bankroll.

Keep in mind in the USA, regulations for day trading stocks or stock options limits you to 3 day trades in a 5 day trading period if you have under $25,000 and are using a margin account. You could opt for a cash account, but you have to wait 3 days for cash to settle with stocks before you can reinvest, only 1 day with options.

The cheapest stock options you can buy are expiring options on expiration day, for $1 with a $1 +.80 cents commission on places like TastyWorks. Robinhood is commission free but you do not have access to $1 options that expire on expiration day, limiting you basically to a minimum of $5 option purchases which puts extreme pressure on one of the scenarios above.

With poker you can join freerolls and there are starting tournaments for as little as $.50 + a tiny fee.
US stock market is open 5 days a week.
Futures are practically 24/7 as well as Options on futures. No day trading restrictions.
Poker is basically 24/7 but the better tournaments are online on the weekends.


Quickest possible returns: Options vs Table Poker: You can literally get 1000% or more sometimes in a span of 5 minutes but that's rare, not the norm. Generally it requires you let your trade work out and quite often you are swing trading for days or weeks. With poker you can obviously play 1 hand at a table and hit a big pot for an equally large return in a very short timespan. Tournaments would require a longer time investment.

Smallest amount of risk: Personally I would say stocks. Due to the ability to immediately cut losses, you can generally limit your losses to 1% or less, but the returns are also quite a bit smaller and much, much slower than the other two options. However with a bankroll of $10 or even $100, you are probably not going to get anywhere in any significant amount of time with stocks. Any site with decent software for day trading pretty much kills you in commission with a starting balance of less than $2000 minimum and you have to be willing to gamble it all on every single trade until you build up your bankroll or die a slow death due to commissions. There are some really good traders out there that claim to have done it with as little as $500, but I consider luck as well as years of experience to be a huge part of why. Not recommended for new traders.

Largest possible return on smallest investment: Tournament Poker/Options. They both normally require a time investment but can payout huge on a reasonable time investment. I would say for options you are looking at a time span between 1 day and 3 weeks. With online poker tournaments they can range between 3 hours and 12 hours.

With Poker you can take advantage of freerolls and sign-up bonuses. With stocks, you can sign up for a more risky margin account which can give you 2x-6x your starting balance, but poses far greater risks if you lose.

Which route would you choose given the starting bankrolls and why?

What is riskiest and what is most efficient(in terms of time)?

What poses the biggest threat to your small bankroll? Variance/bad beats in poker vs sudden unexpected market moves.

What would you say is more consistent?

What is a bigger obstacle to your success? Market Maker price manipulation or RNG tournament online poker software manipulation? Collusion in poker or pump and dumps? Personally, I would say insider trading is not really a significant factor for small investments.

What would you say offers you more control over the outcome? Obviously bankroll management is the most important aspect of both. However do you feel more confident in the the direct control poker gives you over the game or the ability to research/read charts in stocks in order to make a more accurate prediction?

Once you reach $25,000, how do you get to $100,000? Poker or stocks?

Einhorn be the man to ask. THE MAN. lol

Poker's all time money leaders.... on the books or off. Fun money to the best traders.

Originally Posted by smknginmaine

Poker's all time money leaders.... on the books or off. Fun money to the best traders.

Right, but this is addressing building a bankroll from basically scratch, not trading with billions.

Einhorn can read some no name obscure company PnL ..... and snap, eat it and puke the parts for profit..... stay away.... or recommend to friend while he's on to the next. He might even play a 1M one drop to pass the time for charity.

Originally Posted by spadeit

Right, but this is addressing building a bankroll from basically scratch, not trading with billions.

Then why include day trading in the ? And you're over simplifying. If you're starting with billions.... WTF do you care? do what you like.
I knew what the ? was and answered it, with my own opinion. Did you misunderstand the ?

do what you're better at. and enjoy more. if your main goal is money. there's uncountable amounts more in the markets.
but..... how many pics did you see in 08 of poker players jumping off buildings?

.......and..... if you think you're gonna get a solid answer here. from me... you...or anyone. let's play cash and I've got a "legal" inside line on a company that can't lose. Believe it

Originally Posted by smknginmaine

Then why include day trading in the ? And you're over simplifying. If you're starting with billions.... WTF do you care? do what you like.
I knew what the ? was and answered it, with my own opinion. Did you misunderstand the ?

You are not really taking the time to read.

Originally Posted by spadeit

You are not really taking the time to read.

I guess your right///// i could go back and read it all, to try and get some idea of what you're talkin about. but i'd be a waste of time. and i don't have time for that.

I'm aware my statement rivals the sense of yours. lol. I did that on purpose

Either way, dont play with money you cant afford to lose.

Originally Posted by Nomahoners

Either way, dont play with money you cant afford to lose.

........ either way... don't play with YOUR $ be good at convincing others you're good. and true or not, i promise, you'll live well

In poker you hold a hell of a lot more of an influence over the long term outcome and there is a hell of a lot less variables. Within the stock market it can swing annnnnnyyyyway. Something in the world could happen inexplicable and unexpected that could cause the stock market to crash. Eg, corona and if you’re in a position at that point the. You’re screwed. Poker, you ultimately control the outcome over a large sample size